
Brown's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and Susan Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals (1994), there has been ongoing inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to whether feudalism is a useful construct for understanding medieval society. Ī broader definition of feudalism, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the clergy, and the peasantry, all of whom were bound by a system of manorialism this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society". The classic definition, by François Louis Ganshof (1944), describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Īlthough it is derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), which was used during the Medieval period, the term feudalism and the system which it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people who lived during the Middle Ages.

A medieval castle is a traditional symbol of a feudal society.įeudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, and cultural customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. After the simulation students will fill out a T-Chart that will ask them to compare their experience from the simulation to the historical reality.Orava Castle in Slovakia. They will also have to be aware of what the daimyo are doing and attempt to prevent them from gaining power by using diplomacy. The student that is the shogun will be the banker and ensure that the daimyo have enough currency to pay their debts. These students will understand the pressure put on this class and how they desired power. The student that is the daimyo will be in charge of their estate and make all of the decisions. These students will gain an understand of how the larger the daimyo’s army, the more powerful the daimyo. The students that are the samurai will follow the daimyo’s orders and attack his/her enemies or defend their estate. These students will get a sense of how difficult, monotonous, and important this class was during this time. This activity represents the farming that this social class performed during Japan’s medieval period.

The students that are the peasant/farmer will be drawing Ryo coins. During the lesson students will be performing one of the tasks listed in the previous section. These roles will provide students with context for what these social classes actually did during this period of time. If they have not, then the Shogun begins taking away samurai until the daimyo has the appropriate number of Ryo coins to pay for them.

These roles will be randomly given to the students, and they can not trade roles with another student. Students will either be the shogun, daimyo, samurai, or peasant/farmer. The activity will have students simulate the various classes of medieval Japan’s feudal system. The content of this lesson will be delivered in the form of a simulation activity.
